The Impact of Population, Health, and Environment Projects: A Synthesis of the Evidence

Jun 5th, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2015) – A new working paper by the Evidence Project synthesizes the available research from the latest generation of population, health, and environment (PHE) projects, providing a detailed account of the benefits of integrated projects and gaps in the evidence base.

Integrated programming to address both social and environmental challenges dates to the mid-1980s, when integrated conservation and development projects began. PHE is a sub-set of these integrated programs that aims to improve access to primary health care services, particularly family planning and reproductive health, while also supporting sustainable livelihoods and helping communities conserve their critical ecosystems and natural resources.

“Integrated programming offers several family planning benefits,” explains Jason Bremner of the Population Reference Bureau and a co-author of the report. “First, many of these projects are in rural areas so family planning services are now reaching very remote populations. Also the integrated approach encourages men to get more engaged in family planning.” Dr. Bremner also points out that integrated programming encourages women to get involved in livelihoods and natural resource management.

Although the integrated projects studied tend to document family planning impacts, they are less likely to document environmental, livelihood, and resilience impacts, despite the availability of measurement tools. Moreover, managers of integrated projects find it challenging to provide evidence of the added value of integration. The authors identify the need for implementation science to address gaps in evidence, such as cost-savings and efficiency, and the larger effects of family planning on environmental, livelihood, and climate change outcomes.

“To make a strong case that family planning has a larger impact on environment and development sectors, we need to be collecting and analyzing the data to show this, and communicating the evidence effectively,” notes Clive Mutanga, USAID’s Family Planning and Environment Technical Advisor.

This report provides donors, researchers, and practitioners with a range of ideas for guiding the next generation of integrated projects in collecting the evidence to make the case.

Your email:

The Evidence Project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of cooperative agreement no. AID-OAA-A-13-00087. The contents of this web site are the sole responsibility of the Evidence Project and Population Council and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The Evidence Project seeks to expand access to high quality family planning/reproductive health services worldwide through implementation science, including the strategic generation, translation, and use of new and existing evidence. The project is led by the Population Council in partnership with the INDEPTH Network, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, PATH, and the Population Reference Bureau.